Reports indicate American jihadi killed in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An American who became one of Somalia's most visible Islamic rebels was killed today by the extremist group al-Shabab which is quashing dissenting voices, militants said.

The killing of Omar Hammami, who on the FBI's Most Wanted list, may discourage other would-be jiahdis from traveling to Somali, say terrorism experts.

Hammami, a native of Daphne, Alabama, who was known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, or "the American," was killed in southern Somalia after months on the run after falling-out with al-Shabab's top leader, militants said.

Reports of Hammami's death have cropped up every few months in Somalia, only for him to resurface a short while later. But J.M. Berger, a United States terrorism expert who closely follows the inner workings of al-Shabab, says he thinks the current death reports are accurate.

The rebels did not immediately present proof of Hammami's death.